Newport News acting fire chief leaves behind legacy

NEWPORT NEWS — — As a Christopher Newport College student, Scott Liebold had dreams of a career in forestry or natural biology.

"I wanted to do whatever International Paper and those companies do when they grow these 2,000- or 3,000-acre tree farms," he said.

But in 1982, he needed a way to pay for college after federal funding was cut to his tuition grant. So the 21-year-old, who had been volunteering as a firefighter in Isle of Wight County, took a job with the Newport News Fire Department.

"I was living on my own and paying bills so I had to choose whether I wanted to eat and go to school, pay rent and go to school or pay rent and eat," Liebold said. "I chose to pay rent and eat."

More than three decades later, 53-year-old Liebold holds a bachelor's degree and two graduate certificates, in addition to the title of Newport News acting fire chief.

"My true intent was to take the job with the Newport News Fire Department, have them help me get my degree and move on to all those other well-laid plans I had for myself," Liebold said.

On Tuesday, he'll say goodbye to the career he never planned on having. He is retiring from his 31 year career with the department including the 31/2 years he spent leading the 380-person department.

"I have no regrets at all about my career path," Liebold said. "Every day I have been here I have learned something. The education I've gotten here as an employee has truly been a blessing to me and has been invaluable."

He still remembers his first fire call — a double house fire on 16th Street in the Southeast section of the city.

"Whether it's a terrorist attack, a bomb, a ship going down in the harbor, a plane crash, we are the catch all," Liebold said. "If there is nobody else in the city that does, we do it. Citizens know that if they call us, we'll do anything to help them solve their problems."

"There has not been one day where I have ever said 'I don't want to do this,'" he said.

Liebold began his career at the old Station 1 building, which was located at 27th Street and Warwick Boulevard.

In his early years, all fire trucks had manual transmissions, there were no radios and none of the stations had air conditioning, he said.

"It was so hot we would sleep during the day and stay up all night to stay cool," Liebold said. "There was one fan in the kitchen for the cook, but we had fun and enjoyed coming to work."

Liebold spent 23 years working in the field before moving into administration. He was appointed interim fire chief in June 2010 when former Chief Ken Jones stepped down after eight years to take over as the city's emergency management coordinator. It is the title he still holds.

Liebold said former city Neil Morgan — who appointed him to the position — allowed him to keep the "interim" title because if he were named permanent chief, city policy would require him to become a resident within a year of his hire date. Liebold lives in Isle of Wight, but said he has family commitments that require him to live there.

As acting chief, Liebold has all the authority, pay and responsibilities of the fire chief. Liebold earned $105,000 in base pay, plus $20,000 in supplemental income in 2012. As acting chief, the city manager has to sign paperwork every six months re-confirming Liebold in the position.

Current city manager Jim Bourey said he wanted Liebold to be permanent chief but needed him to move to Newport News like other department heads.

However, Liebold still had family issues that prevented him from moving to the city.

Liebold said his mother and stepfather live in an assisted living center in Isle of Wight, and he needs to spend lots of time with them, making living in Newport News too inconvenient. He also did not want to uproot his daughter, who is in high school.

"I support the manager's decision," he said. "My personal philosophy is that public safety directors should live in the community they defend, so I don't have any issue at all with him saying I need to move to the city. I just can't do that for him."

Liebold said he's decided to retire and move on to other professional opportunities.

"It's a good opportunity professionally and personally to change directions," he said.

Although he is retiring from the fire department, Liebold said he is not ruling out a second career in government.

Liebold said he hasn't decided what area of government he'd like to work in, but it more than likely won't be another fire chief job.

"I've done that," he said. "I'm ready to take on another challenge."

Bourey said he's sad to see Liebold go and his talents will be missed in the city.

"Chief Liebold has been the whole package," Bourey said. "He has done a tremendous job with budgeting and administrative matters."